Neuropsychiatric conditions are characterized by a variety of debilitating cognitive and behavioral impairments including, but not limited to, psychotic, cognitive, anxiety, and attention disorders. In bipolar disorder, one of the most common psychotic disorders worldwide, individuals suffer from cyclic episodes of major depression and mania. Bipolar disorder affects more than 5.7 million adults each year in the United States alone, with approximately 3% of the U.S. population being diagnosed with the disorder.
Currently, lithium carbonate remains a first-line therapeutic for the treatment of bipolar disorder. Lithium functions to normalize the mood of manic individuals by inhibiting glycogen synthase kinase-3 (GSK-3) function. Despite the therapeutic properties of lithium, a number of issues detract from its therapeutic utility. For example, lithium typically takes 1 to 2 weeks before any therapeutic effects are observed and side-effects of lithium treatment include polyuria-polydipsia syndrome, structural lesions in the kidney, tremor, weight gain, diarrhea, and skin rash.
Therefore, there is an unmet need in the field to develop effective alternative therapies for the treatment of neuropsychiatric conditions, especially bipolar disorder.